The Bombay High Court has brought an end to a property dispute that lingered for more than seven decades by directing the partition of nearly one acre of land in Pune among the heirs of the original landowner. The decision resolves litigation that began in 1950 concerning properties left behind by M.M.H. Janmohammed.
In a judgment delivered on February 27, a single bench of Justice Farhan Dubash disposed of petitions originally filed in February 1950 by Janmohammed’s heirs seeking partition of his properties and determination of their respective shares.
The court ordered the division of the remaining land—measuring approximately one acre (4,271 square metres) in Yerawada—among the legal heirs.
The dispute traces its roots to properties owned by Janmohammed in Pune, which included two large plots. One was located on Deccan College Road and the other in Yerawada. In March 1950, a preliminary decree for partition was declared in relation to these properties.
Subsequently, the Maharashtra government acquired the Deccan College Road plot. The compensation received for that acquisition was distributed among Janmohammed’s legal heirs.
However, the litigation continued over a 16-acre property located in Yerawada. The dispute became complicated as several individuals laid claim to portions of the land. Among them were the heirs of a manager appointed by Janmohammed during his lifetime, who asserted that the property had been transferred to them in lieu of debts owed by the landowner.
In 1955, the heirs entered into a compromise settlement to resolve several aspects of the dispute. Despite that agreement, a portion of about one acre of land remained unresolved and continued to be the subject of litigation for decades.
With its recent order, the Bombay High Court has directed that the remaining land be partitioned among Janmohammed’s legal heirs, thereby concluding a 76-year-old legal battle over the property.
